From the Chicago Tribune:
A new nationwide strategy to prevent suicides, especially among U.S. military veterans and younger Americans, will tap Facebook Inc as part of a community-driven push to report concerns before someone takes their own life.
The new Facebook service will allow users to reportsuicidal comments they see online from friends. The website will then send the potential victim an email urging them to call the hotline as well as chat confidentially online with a counselor.
The effort, announced on Monday, is the first new plan in more than a decade to address what officials say is a growing public health issue and aims to curb deaths over 10 years.
“It takes the entire community to prevent suicides. It’s not just one individual,” U.S.Surgeon General Regina Benjamin told Reuters. “We call can play a role.”
The plan, which also includes $55.6 million in grant funding for suicide prevention programs, will be released in Washington by Benjamin, U.S. Health SecretaryKathleen Sebelius and Army Secretary John McHugh.
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